# Client-aligned referral program worksheet | SourceX

Canonical: https://refer.sourcex.si/guides/a-data-referral-program-should-fit-your-existing-client-promise
Last updated: 2026-11-04

A referral program fits an advisory firm when every promise the firm already makes to clients still holds after it joins: independent advice, confidentiality, the scope it was hired for, how it is paid and how hard it pushes. Write those promises down in the firm's own words, test each one against what the program asks and pays, and choose the participation model that breaks none of them. The reward is the last line on the worksheet, not the first.

This page assumes you already know some clients could plausibly fit. If you have not sized that yet, the [client-fit and effort canvas](/guides/should-your-firm-add-a-data-referral-program) comes first; this worksheet answers the next question, which is whether joining changes what your firm stands for.

## The client problem, and the part your firm would play

The client problem is specific. An owner-run company may hold years of its own operating records, such as tickets, work orders, claim files or project histories, without knowing that SourceX licenses approved business data straight from the companies that hold it, for AI training and evaluation, and takes care of the agreement, the rights review, preparing and delivering the data, and the payout. The company controls whether to proceed, what scope to offer and which terms to accept, and nothing is shared without its approval.

Your firm's part is narrow: recognize a client that may fit, ask the CEO whether they want the conversation, introduce, and step back. You never export, upload or describe confidential records, and you never negotiate. That narrowness matters for the worksheet, because most promise conflicts come from doing more than this.

It is also much less than many partner programs expect. Microsoft describes its co-sell motion as any collaborative engagement between Microsoft and its partner ecosystem, spanning demand building, sales planning and lead sharing. A firm that co-sells takes on part of the vendor's sales work. A data referral asks for none of that. For the general idea of a referral program, see [what a referral program is](/questions/what-is-a-referral-program).

## The client promise alignment worksheet

Five steps, done once by the partners who own client relationships.

1. **Copy each promise verbatim** from where clients read it: the engagement letter, proposal template, advisory agreement or website. If a promise lives only in conversation, write it the way partners say it.
2. **Answer each test question** under both participation models described in the next section.
3. **Mark each cell** Holds, Holds if (with the condition written out) or Breaks.
4. **Rule out any model with a Breaks.** Among the rest, prefer the one with fewer conditions.
5. **Only then read the reward lines.** If the reward is what tips the decision, go back to step 2 and answer the independence question again.

| Promise type | Example wording (replace with yours) | Test question | Registered and disclosed | Unregistered pointer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independence | "Our recommendations are not influenced by third parties" | Would we raise licensing with this client if no reward existed? | Holds if the reward, its basis and its conditions are disclosed in writing before the introduction and the client agrees | Holds |
| Paid only by clients | "We are compensated solely by the clients we serve" | Does any third-party payment break this outright? | Breaks | Holds |
| Confidentiality | "What you share with us stays with us" | Has the CEO agreed to our passing the company's name, a contact and why it may fit? | Holds if the CEO agrees first and only metadata travels | Holds if the CEO agrees first |
| Scope | "We do the work we were engaged to do" | Is the introduction outside the engagement and unbilled? | Holds if it is a separate, optional conversation | Holds |
| No pressure | "We never push products on clients" | Who decides whether to continue, and how often do we ask? | Holds if we ask once and a no ends it | Holds if we ask once |
| Competence | "We only recommend what we understand" | Can we describe what SourceX would ask for and what happens next, without forecasting an outcome? | Holds if partners can explain the steps and what stays unknown | Holds if partners can do the same |

Two of these rows decide most firms. Independence is a condition, not a verdict: it holds under the registered model only when the client knows before the introduction that the firm will be paid, how the reward is calculated and that it never reduces the client's own payout. Paid-only-by-clients is a verdict: no disclosure rescues it.

For registered investment advisers the independence row has a regulatory floor. The SEC's 2019 interpretation of the adviser standard of conduct says the duty of loyalty requires an adviser to eliminate or make full and fair disclosure of conflicts that might incline it, consciously or unconsciously, to give advice that is not disinterested, so the client can give informed consent, and that disclosure alone is not always enough. Accountants and lawyers have their own rules; the [referral fee rules by profession](/compare/referral-fee-rules-by-profession) and the [attest versus non-attest comparison for CPAs](/compare/cpa-referral-fee-attest-client) set them out.

## Registered and disclosed, unregistered pointer, or a reasoned no

**Registered and disclosed.** The firm holds an approved partner account, signs the SourceX Channel Partner Agreement before any introduction, introduces the CEO through its link and discloses the reward. The agreement runs for one year, can be ended on 30 days' notice, protects qualifying contacts introduced during its term for six months after it ends, and keeps confidentiality obligations for three years, longer for trade secrets.

**Unregistered pointer.** The firm tells the CEO that SourceX exists and that the company can apply on its own. No agreement, no link, no credit and no reward, because only a partner with an approved account who has signed the agreement can be credited. One consequence is permanent: once the company has applied, the terms treat it as having an existing application, so a later introduction by the same firm would be reviewed as a duplicate and not credited.

**A reasoned no.** The firm does not raise the program, and answers factually if a client asks.

| Question | Registered and disclosed | Unregistered pointer | Decline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paperwork | The Channel Partner Agreement, signed before any introduction | None | None |
| What the firm can receive | The default reward, only after the payment conditions are met | Nothing | Nothing |
| What the client is told | That the firm may be paid, how the reward is calculated and that it never reduces the client's payout | That the firm has no financial interest | Nothing unless asked |
| Firm effort | Agreement review, a disclosure note, tracking each introduction | One conversation | None |
| Credit for that company later | Credited if the firm's is the first valid introduction | None, permanently | Not applicable |
| Promise types it can keep | Those that allow disclosed third-party pay | All six | All six |

## What joining costs, what it pays and what it risks with clients

**Costs.** Reading and signing the agreement, writing a disclosure note partners can use word for word, a tracking sheet, and partner time for each conversation. These are internal costs; registration itself is free.

**What it pays.** The default reward on a company's first qualifying transaction is the greater of $50,000 plus 5% and 15% of Actual Supplier Payout, the compensation SourceX actually pays the referred company, with no cap; further qualifying transactions first agreed within 12 months of the first Closing pay 15%, and a transaction qualifies only when its Actual Supplier Payout is at least USD 100,000 unless SourceX agrees in writing. The reward is paid separately by SourceX and never deducted from the client's compensation. It becomes payable only after the Acquisition Partner's acceptance, the buyer's cleared payment to SourceX, payment of the client's compensation, finance approval and the firm's tax and payment details. Credit goes to a single partner per company, the firm whose valid introduction came first inside the 90-day window, and only once the company's verified application is in.

| Client's Actual Supplier Payout on its first qualifying transaction (Illustrative) | Reward at the greater of $50,000 plus 5% and 15% |
|---|---|
| USD 100,000 | USD 55,000 |
| USD 400,000 | USD 70,000 |

These rows show arithmetic only, not forecasts or completed deals. SourceX has not published what share of introductions reaches a paid license, so no expected value exists to put in a business case. Budget the pilot at zero income.

**What it risks.** A paid recommendation can read as selling, even when disclosed. Vendors will keep asking advisory firms to join programs like this: in PartnerStack's survey with Wynter of 100 senior leaders at B2B SaaS companies, 69% planned to increase their investment in partnerships. That tells you about vendor appetite. It says nothing about whether your clients want another introduction from you, which only your clients can answer.

## Three firms fill in the worksheet (Illustrative)

Illustrative. Generic firms, invented promises and decisions.

| Firm (Illustrative) | Promise that decided it | Worksheet result | Model chosen | Review point |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12-person fee-only wealth advisory firm | "We are compensated solely by our clients" | Breaks under the registered model | Unregistered pointer, for the two business-owner clients who raised AI and old archives | Annually, or if the promise changes |
| 45-person operations consultancy | Independence and confidentiality | Every row holds, three with written conditions | Registered and disclosed; pilot with five clients | After two quarters, on what clients said |
| 9-partner accounting firm whose clients are mostly far below 50 full-time employees | None breaks; client fit is the problem | Promises hold, but few clients could ever fit | Decline the program; answer questions factually | When a larger client joins the firm |

The consultancy's three conditions, written into its disclosure note: the reward and its basis are disclosed in writing before any introduction; the introduction happens in a separate, unbilled conversation; and a CEO is asked once. The accounting firm shows why the worksheet cannot stand alone: a perfect promise score does not create clients who fit.

## Pilot, maintain, expand or decline, with the reason written down

- **Pilot** when every promise holds under the registered model, at least a few clients could plausibly fit, and partners can explain the process without forecasting. Keep it to a handful of clients and one review date.
- **Maintain** after the pilot if no client has complained, the disclosure note was used every time and partners still answer the competence question well.
- **Expand** only on evidence from clients, such as CEOs who asked follow-up questions or later thanked the firm, never on the reward alone. Any client complaint stops expansion until the cause is fixed.
- **Decline** when any promise breaks under both models, or when the book holds too few clients who could fit. Declining is a complete decision, not a failure to decide.

Write the reason as one sentence the firm could show a client: "We chose the unregistered pointer because our clients pay us and nobody else; we will revisit if that promise changes." A decision that cannot be written that way is not finished.

## Which clients could be introduced at all

The worksheet only matters for clients who could fit. Introduced companies need 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), documented operating history in records they created themselves, the rights to license those records and a CEO who wants the conversation and can sign for the company. Companies in the U.S., Canada and the EU qualify, as do companies in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, South Africa, Latin America, the UAE and Saudi Arabia when at least 70% of the data is in English.

Material that belongs to the client's own customers is usually not a fit, and neither is an introduction made without the CEO's knowledge. Partners describe records at metadata level only: the system, the record type, rough volume, years covered and who administers it. Whether the records match current demand, and what any license would cover, stays unknown until SourceX reviews the company. How the process runs after the introduction is set out in [how it works](/how-it-works); more partner guides sit in [the guides hub](/guides).

## Next step

> **Refer a company. No cap on rewards.** Default reward on a company's first qualifying transaction: the greater of $50,000 plus 5% and 15% of Actual Supplier Payout, with no cap; further qualifying transactions first agreed within 12 months of the first Closing pay 15%. Eligibility and payment conditions apply, including the USD 100,000 Minimum Transaction, and a signed Schedule A or addendum can differ. A lead, meeting or signature alone does not trigger payment.

If every promise on your worksheet holds under the registered model and a client's CEO wants the conversation, [sign up](/register) for a partner link, run the client through [who qualifies](/who-qualifies) and read the [program terms](/terms) in full before your disclosure note goes out.

## Sources

- https://refer.sourcex.si/terms
- https://refer.sourcex.si/how-it-works
- https://refer.sourcex.si/who-qualifies
- https://www.sec.gov/files/rules/interp/2019/ia-5248.pdf
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/partner-center/referrals/co-sell-overview
- https://partnerstack.com/resources/research-lab/the-state-of-partnerships-in-gtm-2026